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Hereafter
"Hereafter" is the forty-third and forty-fourth episodes of . It first aired on November 29, 2003. Plot Part I A group of supervillains are gathered around and plotting to take their revenge on Superman. They arrange an ambush for the Man of Steel by attacking Metropolis. They battle the rest of the Justice League, but when Superman arrives, Toyman reveals his secret weapon: a giant toy robot equipped with a disintegrator beam. Toyman fires several times, and sections of the city disappear without trace. Superman evades the beams, but Toyman takes aim at Batman and Wonder Woman. Superman throws himself in front of them, and takes the blast, disappearing without trace. Shocked, the League and the world must accept what seemed impossible: Superman is dead. In anger, Wonder Woman threatened to kill Toyman, but Flash prevented it. The only person who refuses to believe it is Batman. He analyzes the evidence from the battle, insisting that it is impossible for objects to disappear without a trace, citing the law of conservation of mass. He coldly snubs the invitations of Alfred and the other Leaguers to attend Superman's funeral in Metropolis. At Superman's funeral, the attendants include the League (minus Batman), the staff of the Daily Planet, Jonathan and Martha Kent, several world leaders, superheroes, Lois Lane and even Lex Luthor, who genuinely admits that he will also miss Superman greatly. J'onn J'onzz pronounces a eulogy, and the League ceremonially inters a coffin in a monument. As they bring the coffin to his memorial, Wonder Woman spots Batman watching the procession from the shadows. Holding a wake for Superman in the Watchtower, the League swaps stories about him, then J'onn tentatively proposes adding a new member. Suddenly, Lobo crashes through the window, announcing that he's there to take Superman's place. When the League orders him out, he decides to "audition" by tearing the Watchtower apart and attacking them. They hold him off, then hear that dozens of supervillains are running amok in Metropolis, celebrating Superman's death in their own fashion. The League reluctantly bring Lobo along as they go to fight. Investigating another of his theories, Batman follows a trail to Superman's memorial. Finding nothing, he wonders if he's wrong, and Superman really is dead. Alone, he addresses the monument, telling Clark that, despite their differences, he has always respected him, and that he will miss him... but his tribute is interrupted by a nearby explosion. Batman takes off to combat the attacking supervillains. The League attacks, with difficulty subduing the rogue villains. Lobo makes himself useful in his own fashion, beating Kalibak into submission (and beyond) with a car, and causing plenty of destruction in the process. To a downcast League, he exults, "when you got Lobo on your team, who needs Superman?" The scene dissolves to a barren landscape, where under a red sun and some rubble lies... Superman. Part II Superman regains consciousness, and sees the barren landscape, except for himself and sections of the Metropolis city that were hit by Toyman's disintegrator beam; wherever he is, the beam transported him there instead of destroying him. He sees that the sun is red, and his powers aren't working. He picks up a signal on his communicator, and decides to move closer to it. Salvaging what food and supplies he can from the cars in the street fragments, he then siphons gas into one of them, and drives off. Making camp one night, he is menaced by a pack of wolf-like creatures. He attempts to scare them off, without effect, then manages to drive them away with fire. Realizing he is powerless, he uses tools from the car to fashion an iron bar into a crude but effective sword. Before too long, his car is out of gas, and he is forced to walk. Attacked that night by the creatures again, he kills their leader, and subjugates the rest of the pack, harnessing them as sled dogs for a new improvised vehicle. After a few more days, he reaches the ruins of a city, and finds the source of the signal: the Watchtower, crashed to the ground. Entering, he tries to access its computer; the computer tells him that the rest of the League's whereabouts are unknown, then shuts down due to low power. Superman bangs his fists down in frustration and asks aloud, "what happened to everybody?" A voice answers, "They died, Superman. Thousands of years ago." A figure appears from the shadows – Vandal Savage. Savage seems uncharacteristically glad to see Superman, and he soon explains why: the planet they are on is Earth, 30,000 years in the future, and the entire human race, except for Savage, is dead. When Superman asks Vandal Savage how he's still around, Vandal responds with "The old fashioned way, I'm immortal." And then he also adds "The Earth belongs to the cockroaches now... oh, and me." Savage explains that, only a few months after Superman disappeared, he developed a weapon that allowed him to control the force of gravity. Without Superman, Savage killed the rest of the Justice League (stating that John Stewart was the most challenging) and proclaimed himself ruler of the world. But his newfound powers disrupted the balance of the solar system, killing the rest of the human race. Superman is initially enraged, but Savage says he's reformed: after millennia of loneliness and isolation, he's come to realize that his obsession with power was meaningless. With plenty of time on his hands, Savage has built himself a luxurious mansion in the ruins of Metropolis, with a large garden and plenty of technological amenities. He passes his time reading, working on various inventions, or on hobbies such as restoring other parts of the city. One of them includes a spaceship that he intended to use to explore the universe, but he chose to stay, feeling he that needed to be punished. He treats Superman to a home-cooked meal, and invites him to stay. Wandering around the mansion one night, Superman finds a time machine.Just like the one used in "The Savage Time" He asks Savage why he did not finish it. Savage says there would be no point, as the machine would not allow him to travel back to any time where he was already alive. Superman points out that he can, since he's dead, and can stop Savage's destruction of the world. He and Savage work together to complete the machine, but find that they can't keep the portal open without a much larger power source. Savage knows of only one: a zero-point energy generator that he built, but was stolen some years ago by a colony of giant cockroaches. He can build another one, but it will take fifty years. He and Superman sneak into the colony to get it back. In battle with the roaches, Superman apparently falls to his death into the pit containing the generator – but instead, the device, which as Savage has explained is like a "miniature sun," instantly restores his powers, and he is able to get himself and Savage away safely. Savage opens the portal, giving Superman the information he needs to thwart his younger self's plan. Before going, Superman asks what will happen to Savage if he succeeds. Savage tells him not to worry: "Do what you do best... what you were born to do: Save the world." The two men shake hands, and Superman departs. Back in the present, while Lobo is crowing over Kalibak, Deadshot takes aim at Batman with a missile. Superman's hand appears and catches it. In wonder, the League crowds around him (except for Batman). Superman tells Lobo he's fired, and the bounty hunter angrily jets away on his bike. Superman says he'll explain what happened to him, but first they have a job to do. The League flies into action, with himself at its head. In the future, Savage is sitting alone among the ruins of Metropolis. He sees a ghostly figure of a child run by, then more people. Slowly, the ruins disappear, and a living city replaces it, filled with people. Savage sees his own body slowly fade from existence, and says, "Thank you, my friend..." Continuity * Metallo claims that he and his team mates have been wronged by Superman. This refers to all the times that each villain felt aggravated by the Man of Steel: * Lobo claims having saved Superman's life once, alluding to the events of ' "The Main Man." However, John promptly rectifies that this is not an entirely truthful account, although it is, as both Superman and Lobo save each other once in the episode. * Superman carries a box of Lightspeed Energy Bars that the Flash sponsored in "Eclipsed." * John suggests Metamorpho as a team member. Metamorpho first appeared in (and was established as John's friend) in "Metamorphosis". * Superman references the times Vandal Savage attempted to conquer the world in "The Savage Time" and "Maid of Honor." * The future Vandal Savage mentions that in order to stop his past self, the League must prevent his theft of a piece of dwarf star matter from a scientist named Ray Palmer, who would later appear in as The Atom. In the comics, this piece of matter is what enables The Atom to manipulate his own size. * This is Vandal Savage's last appearance on the series. It is never explained exactly how the League stopped his plan. Background information Production Notes * Prior to the premiere of Season 2, interviews stated that the team was to have a temporary addition. This episode, in which Superman was supposedly killed, would prompt the rest of the team to recruit a new member. Originally, the new member was to be Captain Marvel. However, legal rights prevented that appearance and Lobo was chosen instead as the least likely suspect. http://jl.toonzone.net/shazam/shazam.htm When Superman investigates the fallen Watchtower, Aquaman's portrait is shown on the computer screen with the other founding members, indicating that the League eventually settled on him after Superman's death (or would have, had Superman not returned). * In part I, when Volcana absorbs her fire blast, there's an explosion that is reused footage from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, when the console that the Jokerz tried to steal blows up. Production Inconsistencies * This episode raises some questions regarding the people's awareness of Superman's secret identity. #Nobody notices that Clark Kent was absent for Superman's funeral. #Considering that Superman's funeral would be a world-class event, Jonathan and Martha Kent are still invited, even their relation to Superman is unknown to the world. ##Jonathan and Martha are consoled by Kara (Clark's "cousin") and Lana Lang (Clark's high-school sweetheart) at Superman's funeral without Clark, their own son. ##Jonathan is placed near the front in the march to the burial without raising suspicions. #Considering the first two questions, Superman's secret identity is still not exposed. * Snapper Carr mentions heads of state from over 400 countries attending; even with "in-universe" countries such as Kaznia and Atlantis, the actual number does not even reach 200. * The ground at Superman's memorial is all green except for his S-Shield on the ground. When Batman gets close to it, however, there's a straight pathway behind him. * When Flash redirects a blast of fire Volcana aimed at Wonder Woman, an ATM in the background reads "MTA", indicating the background has been mirrored. Trivia * The attendants at Superman's funeral include: ** Hippolyta ** Aquaman and Mera ** Dr. Fate and Inza ** Alfred Pennyworth ** Tim Drake ** Jonathan and Martha Kent ** Lana Lang ** Kara ** Bibbo Bibbowski ** Maggie Sawyer ** Lex Luthor ** Lois Lane ** Jimmy Olsen ** Perry White ** Orion ** Lightray ** And a few Green Lanterns: *** Larvox *** Tomar Re *** Katma Tui *** Kilowog *** Kyle Rayner * This episode features many characters from , such as Livewire, Metallo, Volcana, and Lobo. * Corey Burton replaces Bud Cort, Malcolm McDowell, and Miguel Ferrer as the voices of Toyman, Metallo, and Weather Wizard, respectively. Both Cort and McDowell would return to their roles in , while Burton would reprise his role as the Weather Wizard in "Alive!". * Several elements of the story are similar to the comics storyline Funeral for a Friend, including Batman watching Superman's memorial procession from a rooftop. * Part II is reminiscent of Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend, and its film adaptation The Omega Man, both depicting the life of a single man on Earth after the rest of humanity is wiped out by some disaster. * Vandal Savage's fade in Part II is similar to the way the characters of the Back to the Future trilogy do so when time is altered. *Virgil and Richie from do not attend the funeral, despite the Justice League's guest appearances on their show. *Although Barbara Gordon was a close friend of Supergirl, she was not seen at the funeral, nor was Dick Grayson. *Snapper Carr appears to have been Superman's sixth pallbearer, though he can only be seen as such when the pallbearers are seen from behind. * Wonder Woman's ceremonial dress incorporates the eagle-shaped chest plate she has worn in the comics and the Super Friends animated series. * Flash "riding" Lobo's bike (with a skull head on it) is a possible reference to the Amalgam Comic, "Speed Demon", in which Flash (Barry Allen) has been combined with Etrigan and Marvel's Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) to become the Speed Demon (Blaze Allen) and Wally West joins with a new demon to become "Kid Demon" and rescue his uncle riding a motorcycle (in relation to Ghost Rider). Cast Uncredited Appearances * Aquaman * Dr. Fate * Hippolyta * Inza * Lightray * Mera * Orion * Larvox * Tomar Re * Katma Tui * Kilowog * Kyle Rayner * Bibbo Bibbowski * Tim Drake * Jonathan Kent * Kara Kent * Martha Kent * Lois Lane * Lana Lang * Lex Luthor * Jimmy Olsen * Perry White * Copperhead * Star Sapphire * Volcana Quotes Part I Part II Footnotes Category:Justice League episodes